THE LAND TAX BILL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5449, 13 September 1878, Page 3

THE LAND TAX BILL.

It is proposed that this Bill, which is introduced by the Hon. Mr. Ballance, shall come into force on the Ist January, 1879. It is provided that every owner of land liable to duty under this Act shall pay a duty, by way of land-tax, after the.rate of one halfpenny for every one hundred pounds of the capital value, according to the valuation thereof, under this ' Act, over and above the sura, of five hundred pounds. Where any person is tho owner of land in different parts of the colony of the aggregate capital value of five hnndred pounds, such property shall be within' the exemption before provided, For the purposes of this Act all land in New Zealand liable to duty under this Act shall be valued in the manner hereinafter mentioned. All land shall be valued at the capital value thereof to sell, after deducting .therefrom the value of all improvements thereon*; in counties no land shall be deemed of a less primary value than one pound per acre ; in boroughs no land shall be deemed to be of a less primary value than fifty pounds per acre, Crown lands held by any person for pastoral purposes shall be valued at the capital value of such lands to sell, after deducting the value of all improvements. The exemptions are as follows : —No land over which the native title has not been extinguished or in respect of which a certificate of title or memorial of ownership has been issued, if such land is owned and occupied by aboriginal natives only, shall *bo liable to landtax ; but if such laud has been leased to any person, the tenant shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to bo the owner thereof, and shall be liable to land-tax accordingly. Tho lands .hereinafter' mentioned shall be exempt from land-tax : —Land owned by any religious body as a site for n place of worship, and actually- used as such ; land used as a site of or for any public school established by any Education Board under the Education Act, 1877, or which is or may become subject to inspection by an inspector appointed under that Act; land used or occupied for the purposes of a public cemetery ; land used and occupied as the site of a public library, athensenm, or mechanics* Institute ; land occupied and used by any friendly society as a place of meeting only, and not for any other purpose. Land-tax in and for each and every year shall be payable by equal half-yearly payments on the first day of April and the first day of October in every year, and the-firab of such payments for tho half-year commencing on.the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, shall become payable on the first day of April, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine. Every payment of land-tax when the same falls due shall ho deemed to be a debt due to her Majesty by every person who is then the owner of tho land in respect of which such tax is due, and every such person shall forthwith pay tho same to any collector or other person appointed in that behalf under this Act. The same amount of tax is to be payable in respect of laud owned by more persons than one as if one person was tho sole owner, and such persona shall, a? between themselves, he liable in proportion to their shares, but each of them is to* be answerable to the Crown for tho whole tax on such land. Persona beneficially interested in land are to be deemed owners for the purposes of tho Act. Trustees are personally liable. It is provided that the Governor in Council shall divide the colony into districts for the purposes of this Act, and the outside boundaries of such districts shall be coterminous with a county or counties so far as practicable, and shall include nil boroughs adjacent to any such county. The Governor may appoint a land-tax commissioner or a deputy commissioner, who may make rules relating to tho duties of the office. A valuation is to bo made on or before the Ist February, 1879, and on or before the same date in every third year thereafter. Separate valuation lists are to bo prepared for each county and borough. Power of entry upon land and premises for the purpose of rating is given to valuers at tiny time during the day, and persona obstructing them are liable to a penalty not exceeding £SO. "Where the name of an owner cannot, after due inquiry, be found, it shall be entered in the valuation list as “ the owner,” and ho shall be liable to the land lax by that designation. Valuation lists must bo deposited in some public place in each borough and county for nob less than fourteen days, and notice of the deposit of such list must be given, but the omission to give such notice shall not invalidate any valuation. Any person who considers himself aggrieved by reason of the un # fairness and incorrectness of any valuation, or by tho insertion or incorrectness of any matter therein, may, either by himself or his agent, object as heroin provided. Vjjjvery objection shall be in writing, under tho hand 'of: the objector or his agent, and shall be made in the proscribed form, and shall be delivered or posted tjo the deputy-commissioner in the

district where the lands are situated, before the 15tb day of March, in the year whence valuation is made. Any person knowingly and wilfully making a false claim to exemption from land-tax under this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. Persons who have, ceased to be owners of land can have their names removed from the register. The deputycommissioner is to give public notice fourteen days before theist April and Ist October that the land-tax will be payable on a day stated, and he may appoint a place or places in each district where the tux shall be paid. When a a person owns land iu different parts of the colony one place may be appointed at which payment shall be made. If the payment of the tax is in arrear fourteen days after the date stated in the notice, the amount may be recovered by the deputy-commissioner suing in his own name in any Court of competent jurisdiction. Where owners fail to pay, tenants are liable, but they can deduct the amount from the rent. Mortgagees if obliged to pay the tax may recover as a debt, or may add the amount to that of the mortgage. When any owner of land is liable to pay land-tax, and snch land-tax, or any part thereof, is in arrear for three months or upwards, the commissioner shall have and may exercise the powers of sale by the Rating Act, 1876, given to local bodies for the recovery of rates in arrear. All penalties recoverable under this Act, or any regulations made thereunder, shall be recovered in a summary way as provided by the Justices of the Peice Act, 1866. If any' act or thing by this Act required to be done within a fixed time is not done within the time appointed or required, the Governor iu Council may appoint a further or other time for doing the same, although the time within which the same ought to have been done has elapsed or expired, and any act or thing done within the time prescribed by such Order in Council shall be as valid as if it had been done within the time fixed by or under this Act.